After the man left, Adrian turned to Riri and looked at her for a moment.
"Are you... okay?"
he asked softly, almost hesitantly.
"Of course!" Riri answered quickly, with a faint smile.
But somehow, that smile didn't ease Adrian's heart. In fact, it made him feel like Riri was trying to keep her distance. There was something in her tone, in the way her eyes looked away for a few seconds, that made his chest feel tight.
Adrian kept staring at her, as if trying to read her mind.
"What?"
Now it was Riri's turn to ask, giving him a puzzled look.
"Did I make you mad?" Adrian asked bluntly.
"Huh?!" Riri frowned. "What do you mean? I don't get it."
"I just feel like you're... keeping your distance from me," Adrian said honestly.
Riri gave a faint smile, almost forced, and shook her head slowly.
"Keeping my distance? You're overthinking,"
she replied while glancing briefly at him.
"Really? Glad to know it's just my imagination," Adrian said, trying to laugh, though it came out flat. "Where are you headed now?"
"Home. I'm really tired."
"I'll take you."
Riri looked at Adrian with disbelief, almost amused.
"Did you forget? You still smell like alcohol. You're planning to drive me like that?"
"Oh!" Adrian slapped his forehead, realizing his carelessness. He quickly pulled out his car keys from his small bag and handed them to Riri.
"What's this supposed to mean?" Riri asked, now completely confused.
Adrian smiled, his expression steady and confident.
"Isn't it obvious? You're driving."
Riri let out a long sigh and took the keys reluctantly. Looks like tonight she had officially become a last-minute personal driver.
---
Inside the car, Riri focused on driving, eyes fixed on the road. Adrian sat in the passenger seat, staying quiet for a while, though he occasionally glanced at her. It had been a long time since they last met, and in the silence, there were many things Adrian wanted to say.
Riri... was the only woman who had ever made his heart beat slower and faster at the same time.
But before he could act on anything, life was taken over by work—and family pressure. Their relationship got stuck in the "just acquaintances" stage—neither moving forward nor backward.
"Ri...," Adrian finally called.
"Yeah?"
"How have you been?"
"Good. Not much has changed, just been busier lately,"
Riri answered, glancing briefly at him. "You? You look thinner."
Adrian smiled slightly at that. A simple sentence, but it warmed his heart. At least Riri was still paying attention.
"Yeah, maybe because I really have been busy."
Riri nodded slowly. "Even though you're busy, you still..."
She didn't finish the sentence. Her face stiffened. Something crossed her mind—a beautiful, sexy woman she once saw clinging to Adrian's arm at a restaurant. That image was still vivid in her memory.
"Why'd you stop?" Adrian asked, curious.
"It's nothing," Riri answered shortly. She took a deep breath and focused back on the road.
Adrian stayed quiet. But in that silence, he grew more certain: Riri was keeping her distance. He didn't know why, and he wasn't sure how to ask without making things awkward.
"Ri... do you still see Serena often?" Adrian asked softly, trying to change the subject.
Riri glanced briefly at him, then back at the road. From his tone, she could tell things between Adrian and Serena weren't going well.
"Yeah, sometimes for work stuff," she replied shortly.
"How... how is she?"
"She's fine," Riri said flatly. "You two... still doing okay, right?"
That question made Adrian fall silent. For a moment, his eyes stared blankly, and a flicker of sadness passed quickly across his face.
"I don't know," he answered quietly.
Riri didn't respond further. Even though she was curious, she knew it wasn't her place. Whatever was going on between Adrian and Serena wasn't something she had a right to interfere in.
---
That morning, the sun shone warmly over the earth. The air was fresh, and the sky clear—inviting everyone to start the day with energy. But somehow, Iril felt the opposite.
There was a restlessness in her chest since she woke up. As if something wasn't right, though she didn't know what.
"What's wrong?"
asked Frau, her husband, when he noticed she was quiet and distracted during breakfast.
"I don't know," Iril replied honestly. "I've had a bad feeling since this morning."
Frau smiled and gently held her hand.
"How about we go on a trip this weekend?" he suggested warmly.
"Huh?" Iril turned to him, surprised.
"I've been too busy with my new project these past few weeks. We've had less time together. So... I want us to spend this weekend together, relax and unwind."
Iril smiled. She knew Frau was trying to comfort her. She knew her husband was always sensitive to even the smallest changes in her. She then hugged Frau tightly.
"Okay," she said softly.
"I'll try to come home early today," Frau added.
Iril looked at him from the hug. "Don't push yourself if you're busy."
"No," Frau replied firmly. "I miss you too. So tonight, I'm coming home early. No excuses."
Iril nodded slowly, smiled, and her uneasy feeling slightly faded.
After finishing breakfast, the two of them left for work.
But as it turned out, Iril's bad feeling didn't go away. At work, she became increasingly distracted and kept making small mistakes.
"What's wrong with you? This isn't like you," asked her coworker.
"I don't know," Iril said again, trying to smile, though it wasn't convincing.
"You should go home."
"Huh? No, I'm fine, really."
"I know, but I still think you need rest. Go home, okay? Come back tomorrow."
Iril finally smiled and didn't refuse her coworker's kindness.
"Alright. But don't regret sending me home early."
"Hey! Just go already! Get some proper rest!"
Iril chuckled, grabbed her bag and coat, and walked out of the office. The uneasiness still lingered, and as long as it did, she knew she wouldn't be able to work properly.
---
Meanwhile, in another place, Frau was sitting in his office, staring at his phone screen with a furrowed brow. His mother's name was clearly displayed—an incoming call that made him pause. Since the incident with Chloe, his relationship with his mother had become strained.
He still didn't understand how she could think sending another woman—Chloe—to give him a child was acceptable, especially when he was clearly already married to Iril. If they were going to have a child, it should be with Iril, not someone else.
The call eventually stopped. But just as Frau was about to sigh in relief, a message came in:
_Come home tonight. Mom and Dad need to talk to you_
Frau stared at the message for a long moment, then put the phone down heavily.
He knew—tonight wasn't going to be easy.
---